More than Words
by A Dream You've Chased
Summary: Because there are times where silence can speak more than a thousand words and for them it did, theirs was a realtionship than didn't only needed words to show that what you feel is real. Bya/Uno, slight spoilers from current manga arks.
1. Calm Day

**Title: **Calm Day**  
Author/Artist: **Arwen Dark Sorceress of Fate.**  
Pairing: **Kuchiki Byakuya x Unohana Retsu**  
Fandom: **Bleach**  
Theme: **#12 in a good mood.**  
Disclaimer: **I don't own the characters, wish that I did but they belong to Kubo Tite and his people, me only borrowing them for awhile.

* * *

It was a rather beautiful day; the sun was high within the deep blue sky, and sunrays shed light while clouds moved in a lazy pace. Just a glance at the sky could compel anyone to lie down and let everything pass without a single worry in the world. Even the delightful warm temperature tempted people to take a nap or take a moment to calmly contemplate life with only the refreshing silence as a companion.

Days like this were a rare and delightful gap in Soul Society where the work of a Shinigami never ended.

Being a Shinigami was a great honor but sometimes it could be just plain boring and exasperating. After all, it was, to put it simply, doing a repetitive action each and every single day for the long span of their lives with the rush of battle once in awhile.

Of course at first it had been great and very fulfilling, with people admiring you as if you were something akin to a god, which practically they were. But with time even that got boring.

Even to someone like him…

Kuchiki Byakuya, captain of the sixth division and head of his family, got bored with such a repetitive continuity in his everyday life but he never showed it. Having been raised in a noble family he had been taught to dedicate himself fully to even the most minimal aspect of his life and so he did with his work, never complaining, following his orders and rules exactly. But even he got bored with being stuck following the same routine everyday, even with the changes that came from fighting enemies of a higher level. But unlike some people, he could keep his composure when the dam of self-control broke.

He was in a strangely good mood, whether it was due to the day or other circumstances. Paperwork had been practically non-existent in comparison to the past few days and he had been free of the always rude and crude demeanor of his vice-captain, making it obvious he had been in the eleventh division before becoming the sixth division's vice-captain. Byakuya still wondered how Renji had accomplished this when others had been more capable than him and Byakuya would have preferred any of them.

It was ironic to see a person of a noble family working alongside someone who behaved so crudely and who acted almost solely on impulse instead of thinking it over. It was bothersome for Byakuya to cope with a person like that, something that could be seen in those moments in the slight trace of a frown that he had on his face at the mere thought of his vice-captain.

Nevertheless, adapting his famous blank expression again, he was not going to allow Renji to spoil his good spirits that had overcome him that rare day. Flexing his arms in front of his chest he allowed himself to close his eyes while a soft breeze of fresh wind gently ran through the strands of black hair held by the always present kenseikan.

"It's a real beautiful day, isn't it, Kuchiki-taichou?" A voice asked.

Opening his eyes again, Byakuya directed a sidelong glance to see the demure captain of the fourth division, Unohana Retsu, standing besides him looking at a point in space. It was a bit startling that he had not felt her approaching him and he wondered whether she had figured it as well. He decided not to dwell much on it because if he did it would only end in sending him in a flurry of questions of his skill and that would certainly kill his good mood as well as his pride.

So without a single word he re-directed his glance ahead of him to look at nothing in particular, she apparently got his message because she didn't say anything and fell into a companionable silence. Eventually she rested her pale hands over the railing that extended through the corridor, a sigh escaped her lips and everything was submerged in silence once again.

Byakuya was just starting to fell in a state of relaxation, her presence didn't bother him, when Unohana decided that was the perfect time to break through the silent atmosphere that had fallen upon them and annoying him with the sudden intrusion of what he had considered a perfect harmony.

"It's strange to have days like this, isn't it Kuchiki-taichou?" She asked while she took a small breath.

"Aa" He simply answered hoping to put an end to meaningless words.

"Hmm…" Feeling a bit bold, aside from being a bit bored, she decided to test something on him "Did you know that your sister came with a report?"

He decided to humor her, to see how far she would go and also to know about his sister "Did she?"

"Yes, seems that everything is fine in her section. She's doing a great job, you must be really proud of her, Kuchiki-taichou." She smiled with a slight teasing air, something that was rare on her part towards him, considering that they didn't talk more than necessary "I think she will come to see you when she finishes her talk with Abarai-fukutaichou"

Now that killed Byakuya's good mood for the day and Unohana noticed it immediately. She giggled softly which earned her a glare from her fellow captain. The woman suddendly started to feel bad for spoiling his mood, especially since it came so rarely for him.

"I was kidding; she made her report and left." She quickly tried to amend; one of her fingers tracing circles over the wood in of the railing "Don't lose your good mood on this beautiful day because of me."

Byakuya didn't reply, Unohana sighed and raised her right hand, joining her middle and forefinger she directed them in front of her lips and lightly placed a kiss upon them. Aware that he was watching her with a smile on her face she rested said fingers against his cheek in an unconventional kiss of apology.

She drew her hand away but still he didn't say anything though he felt that his good mood returned and once again the two remained there in a companionable silence.

* * *

_Thanks to Bakageta for doing the beta, you're still the best and will always be, you rock girl!!! Also thanks to Sherece because all that mailing that we have been doing gave me plenty of ideas and inspiration, you rock too girl!!_


	2. No Fear

**Title: **No Fear**  
Pairing: **Kuchiki Byakuya x Unohana Retsu**  
Word Count: **1,308

**Theme: **#21 violence; pillage/plunder; extortion**  
Disclaimer: **I don't own the characters, wish that I did but they belong to Kubo Tite and his people, I'm only borrowing them for awhile.

* * *

Never through all their long lives in Soul Society had they witnessed something like this. The war that have been started by the ambition of a single man who had been vicious and cunning enough to get under their guard, earning their trust only to betray them, stabbing them in their backs when the time had been right. It was something that had never been seen and had wrecked the ancient foundations of Soul Society.

The war against Aizen Sosuke had been an event that had cost them way too much. Many lives had been lost and enough blood had been spilled to last more than eternity. Blood that could even be enough for all the wars that would start later on either on the human world or again in Soul Society.

For three long years they had been immersed in a fight that seemed to not have an end. The violence which their enemy had attacked them with had been far to sordid and gory to believe, it was almost as if the former captain of the fifth division had forgotten all that he had stood for and he had not cared about the manner of fighting. But then again maybe he had never believed in those things to begin with after all he had not hesitated to spill blood while he had still been in Sereitei.

Unohana Retsu had been the captain of the fourth division for a long time but in all that time she had never seen such a macabre spectacle as when that war had raged full on. Her captain's uniform most of the times was stained rust red because of the blood; her eyes had never seen so much pain and corpses. She had felt helpless, as if she was not doing enough to prevent people from drifting away.

She had never thought that things could become so strained on their side that her division also had to be called to the battlefield. She had not wanted to, but she didn't have much of a choice. Most of the members of her division were used for medical support but she had had to fight. In a blink, due to the situation, she had to betray her beliefs as a healer and use her hands, which had saved so many lives to, take it life away. She had never felt more tainted.

She had seen the other captains and their subordinates fighting, she had had to heal them many times, sometimes she'd envied them because they hadn't shown much feeling when they killed their enemies. But she was different from them and couldn't bring herself to be that unfeeling about taking someone else's life, even if it was an enemy…

…"_You have the soul, heart, and hands of a healer. You're not a fighter, you shouldn't be here, but the situation requires it and you must abide by it even if your spirit does not want it. You must keep in mind the enemy is also killing us"…_

The stoic words of Kuchiki Byakuya had reverberated in her mind every time she killed one of their enemies; she tried to find some solace in those words. It had been ironic that the captain, who was considered the coldest and detached from everyone, had been the one to give her those encouraging words, usually that was her job.

With his words he had not lowered her fighting skills, she was a captain and could fight as well as any other captain and he knew it. He had merely pointed out that she did not have the will of a fighter like all the others who were more than used to living in the battlefield and she had appreciated his honesty back then.

But now, after three perilous years, after the blood loss, the lost of lives on both sides and the wave of violence that had been initiated by ambition, everything was over. The sole man who had started all of this had finally been killed, falling to the power of the three persons who had the most against him. But even without Aizen the war went on

Unohana Retsu was too tired, she was wounded and with low spirit pressure. Aizen had viciously attacked her before he had been killed when she was caught healing Ichigo. She had been a step away from death, and would have if not for a last minute intervention, an intervention that she was about to jeopardize.

"You can't heal it, can you?" The sudden male voice brought her back.

She snapped to look at the man who was on the ground; she was kneeling besides the crumpled body of the proud captain of the sixth division. She couldn't help but be reminded of the time she had healed him after he took a hit for his sister back when the plot of betrayal was revealed. It was so ironic that it was almost under the same circumstances. After examining the wound on his left side she carefully took him into her arms, it was something unorthodox that had not failed to surprise him but she felt so guilty in letting him remain on the ground.

"Not with the little spiritual pressure that I have left." She finally answered looking at him with a frown marring her face. "You should have not gotten in the way; I was ready to face my end."

"Aa, it looked like if you were." He agreed with her comment, the gentle healer had looked more than ready to die then and there without any hint of fear. "But I was honor bound to you and I never fail my promises, as you're quite aware."

"Of course, I know that." She breathed softly. How she wished he had not saved her, she had saved Rukia without wanting anything in return, especially not this. Her next words felt so hard to say, "You're dying."

"Am I?" He asked without worry and didn't fret when she nodded slowly; it was not the first time anyway. "I have been prepared to die ever since I left the academy and today is no different."

"You're right, we have seen too much death and we don't fear it. I will use the spiritual pressure that I have left to stop your bleeding." She placed her hand over the wound, feeling some of the crimson liquid oozing its way through her fingers before she momentarily stopped the flow. "I don't know how long I'll be able to keep this up; the only thing we have left is to wait for help to reach us."

Slowly he looked around seeing Ichigo and Hitsugaya lying on the ground not too far away, but in far better shape than him. He returned her gaze to her then "…Let's wait then."

There was nothing more to do than that, now both of their lives were on the line. He knew that she was giving him time but she was also risking her own life by doing so. But, typically of her, she didn't seem to mind because she had been right, they had seen enough death and they could feel no fear of it.

Time felt like as if it was ticking by agonizingly slowly as her spirit pressure and blood drained rapidly in comparison, both were overly pale and tired feeling themselves on the brink of unconsciousness. Retsu's slow breathing alerted him of her state, barely aware that he was almost the same. She blinked a few times, black lashes kissing the pale skin of her cheeks.

What happened next no one could tell, they barely saw some blurry shapes before they both passed out in that wrecked place.

* * *

Once again thanks to Bakageta, Shez and Abby, you're the continuing awesome.


	3. Introspection

**Title: **Introspection**  
Pairing: **Kuchiki Byakuya x Unohana Retsu**  
Fandom: **Bleach**  
Word Count: **1214 **Theme: **#16 invincible; unrivaled**  
Disclaimer: **I don't own the characters, wish that I did but they belong to Kubo Tite and his people, me only borrowing them for awhile.

* * *

Unohana Retsu really didn't know the true reason, but everyone believed Kuchiki Byakuya to be made of steel, as if nothing could really hurt him. Maybe that was the curse of being one of the strongest captains or, worse, the curse of being the perfect shinigami, for that's what he had been. She had never seen or heard of another shinigami who followed the rules and was as loyal as he was, not even her. He was everything that represented a shinigami but as much as it was a great quality it was a great flaw.

It had been that quality that almost caused Rukia to lose her life; it had taken a brash orange haired boy and the plot of a group of traitors to fragment the ancient foundations of Soul Society as well as his beliefs and the image he maintained in front of nearly every one in Soul Society. She had gotten a brief glimpse of his past and she had come to see he was not all she had imagined him to be. She had even felt that she had reached a new level of understanding where he was concerned.

Seeing him almost broken and heavily wounded had made her realize that he was not invincible and that he was only a man, in a loose sense of the word. Seeing him like that had also caused her to develop a compassionate respect for him. It was something that she had wanted to demonstrate by personally tending to him, but she had also wanted to start over with her concept of him. So, while he had remained in the fourth division, she had kept him company from time to time, as much was allowed from her.

In her eyes Kuchiki Byakuya had stopped being the perfect shinigami she and the rest of Soul Society had made him out to be. However, just because she had realized that didn't mean she was going to strip his image from him, especially because of the difficult times they had been going through.

A bloody, violent war had inevitably started between the traitors and themselves, back in those moments he had once again fallen into the ideal of the perfect shinigami, strong, loyal and fierce, always being looked up to in admiration, trusting that no one could bring him down. With that ideal some took the strength and the will to fight at their full capabilities in the war.

She had not dared to destroy that image because, at that time, it had been necessary for the strength and faith of others to bring out their own true potential.

In her world, her mind, the sixth division captain had not been placed onto that pedestal; she had understood that he was not perfect; he had qualities and flaws that made him who he was. To her he was an ordinary man, just as she was an ordinary woman that had been bestowed with a greater responsibility that was needed to carry on.

Eventually the war had reached a point where she and her lieutenant had been ordered to fully aid on the fight. She had not had any choice but to do it. Being on a battlefield had not been new to her but she didn't enjoy that experience. Her work had doubled between fighting and healing. She didn't know exactly how but she had stumbled upon Rukia, it had been clear that the young woman needed help and so Retsu had dashed to help her.

Being the captain of the fourth division, it was her duty to help one of her fellow shinigami and if she was to die, well Unohana didn't mind to losing her life for her fellow shinigami. Thankfully she didn't have to and managed to get them both to a safe place so she could start working on the wounds of the petite shinigami. Retsu had been working on Rukia's wounds when she saw the sixth division captain for the first time since she had started to fully fight in that war.

"_You saved Rukia's life." _That statement had been the first to leave his mouth.

"_I did, I couldn't abandon her it would have betrayed my own principles and the trust that she has in me. As long as she's fine, I'm glad."_

"_I am in your debt."_

"_No, her life is more important than asking for anything in return. Don't worry. A simple thank you will suffice."_

"_It will probably do for you, but now I am honor bound to you and I will return the favor when the chance arises, I promise you that."_

Back in that time Unohana had not paid much attention to that, she had been more preoccupied for Rukia's well being. Eventually she had forgotten about it until the final fight had occurred and he had lived up to his words, saving her life in the right moment. How could she forget that 'the perfect unrivaled shinigami always lived up to his promises? He would never promise something while knowing that he couldn't do it.

Of course she would not consider that such an action had been reckless on his part and she had also acted quite recklessly. It had ended with them both being in the sick bays in a critical condition for a week and then left in observation, which had helped to forge the beginning of a close friendship, but that was beside the point.

In the end, Kuchiki Byakuya was an admirable man with many qualities that could make him perfect but also with flaws that could make him imperfect and he had found a balance between them. As cold and distant as he tried to be, she had found out that beneath that all that he was a very kind and gentle man. It was not freely spoken of but he was. He had been capable of inspiring strength in the middle of such hard times and even knowing that he was not invincible he had launched himself into the battle saving her life when he hadn't needed to do so inspired only by his honor and his promise to her.

"Not perfect or invincible, but honorable." She breathed softly while she looked over at the garden in the fourth division lounge, not realizing she had interrupted someone.

"Unohana, I apologize, but I didn't hear you." The captain of the sixth division said with his ingrained etiquette and manners. "Would it be much trouble for you to repeat yourself?"

Slowly she turned to look at him, for some instants she only looked at him wondering if her next course of action will be proper. Smiling gently she leaned forward and lightly rested her lips over his.

"Thank you." She said lightly when she moved away.

Perhaps people will always believe that Byakuya is the invincible and unrivaled shinigami that they had made him be. However, Unohana knew that he was only a man with a higher responsibility, and she wouldn't try to change that because it would change him and she didn't want that.

* * *

_Really I'm not convinced with this one, but hey, tried my best and this is what came out. Thanks to Bakageta for being my beta, to Shezz & Abby for their support and for the Byahana moster that lives in my subconcious that keeps them alive._


	4. Glimpse of the Past

**Title: **Glimpse of the Past.

**Pairing: **Kuchiki Byakuya x Unohana Retsu

**Word Count: **995

**Theme: **#6 the space between dream and reality.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own the characters, wish that I did but they belong to Kubo Tite and his people, me only borrowing them for awhile.

**A/N: **Reference to Bakageta's one-shot: _**"He Kindly Stopped For Me",**_ check it out because it's amazing.

* * *

_They had been late; the hollows they had just disposed of had managed to claim at least one life. It was not much of a loss; one life in exchange for the rest they had saved hadn't seemed like such a great loss for them but it was still one life and unsurprisingly she had not realized she was dead._

_Silently he watched her as she moved around. After leaving behind the two males, perhaps realizing that there was nothing she could do for them, she finally stopped in front of the unconscious young woman. After apparently giving her patient a quick look she knelt beside her and he saw her reach into the bag that she carried on her side._

_Seemingly finding nothing she once again returned her attention to the bleeding girl, she tore a slip of her kimono sleeve and after moving aside the younger girl's kimono she tried to use the strip as a bandage on her leg, but as was expected such an attempt only drifted through the limb, in the end she was an spirit and couldn't touch the living._

_He had expected that would make her realize her situation but she only tried again, ending with the same result as before. Sometimes some where more stubborn than others and maybe this was one of those situations. When she moved to try for a third time he finally moved to stop her._

"_One would think," He said, grabbing her hand, "that you have realized that is futile."_

"_I'm a slow learner, now if you'll let me get back to this." She said while she pulled her hand out of his loose grip._

_He moved to grab her shoulder tightly "You can't"_

"_I don't see why I can't. Now let go." She glared at his hand but he kept it on her shoulder._

"_You are dead. That is why you cannot help her, miss…" He paused when he found himself lacking her name._

_She stood and faced him and looked up into his eyes, something he made sure to avert contact with. "My name is Unohana Retsu, Head Physician to the Daimyo and his family. How did I die?"_

"_You were killed by a group of evil spirits, Hollows. My squad and I disposed of them." He stated almost as if he was giving a report, it was out of habit._

"_Do you have a name?" She finally asked him._

"_Kuchiki Byakuya, Third seat of the Sixth Division of the Gotei Thirteen" He answered to the air above her head after the slight surprise he felt passed._

_The woman turned away from him to look at the damage behind them. "What now?" She finally asked with her back to him._

"_I will send you on to Soul Society."_

"_Where?" _

"_Tengoku."_

"_Oh." She turned to face him and after placing the stamp, she moved on with a serene and placid expression._

_He remained there for a few instants gazing blankly into the place she had just been standing while a thousand things seemed to flow through his mind._

* * *

"Byakuya-sama?" 

A gentle, feminine voice broke through the hazed darkness he was surrounded in, he was called again but somehow neither his mind or body were really in agreement as to what to do exactly. Slowly he opened his eyes to see the face of the fourth division captain looming over him and the whisper kiss of the tip of her braid against his cheek.

"I trust that you slept well, Byakuya-sama." She said very softly like the flutter of a small bird's wings.

Those words apparently made him realize his situation, somehow he had fallen asleep because he could feel his body on the floor and his head resting on Retsu's lap, which explained why her face loomed over his and the feel of her hair against his cheek. Strangely, he had dreamed, or more accurately reminisced, the day he had met her.

Back then he had thought that they would never cross paths again, that she would either remain in rukongai or follow the path to reincarnation. The space between that dream and the reality ended there because two years later he had seen her again on the lines of the Gotei 13 when she was about to become the captain of the fourth division.

Ironically enough their steady acquaintance, or as his sister called it friendship, didn't start there but several years later following the plot of a traitor. As Rukia had once said that that had not been their moment to develop that level of personal understanding and that their understanding of each other was one of the many gains of the war, he couldn't have done anything more than to agree with her.

"What happened?" He finally asked his voice a bit raspy.

"You have been overworking yourself, doing what, I don't know, but whatever you have been doing finally took it's toll on you and your body shut off," She answered him in a slightly chiding tone, the type she used when she was the healer not the friend. "You have to be more careful, Byakuya-sama"

"Hn"

Why hadn't he moved yet? It was with shock that he realized that it was because he didn't want to. He felt strangely comfortable and relaxed, and it was a state he had not been in for quite awhile as they were still dealing with the last remnants of the war. Smiling slightly she started running her fingers through his hair; the last person who had done that for him was his mother when he had been a child.

As proud as Kuchiki Byakuya was he allowed himself that small and brief instant of vulnerability in front of the fourth division captain knowing that she would never tease or ridicule him about it.

The last thing he saw before he once again closed his eyes was the same serene and placid expression she had when she moved on to Tengoku.

* * *

_Does this seem like slight fluff? Well it's the effect of chocolate and the image that I had in my head of them in that position, can you blame me? It was a pretty image in my head._

_Anyway thanks to Bakageta for doing the beta once again and also for allowing me to use her fic as a reference, meant a lot to me._


	5. Glances

**Title: **Glances**  
****Pairing: **Kuchiki Byakuya x Unohana Retsu**  
Fandom: **Bleach**  
Word Count: **973

**Theme: **#1 look over here**  
Disclaimer: **I don't own the characters, wish that I did but they belong to Kubo Tite and his people, me only borrowing them for awhile.

**A/N: **Thanks to Bakageta for doing the Beta, you rock my socks!!!

* * *

It was tedious and annoying, a very boring duty that they were bound to fulfill. It was more bothersome than it was worth for being such a small captain duty. It didn't really affect the status or true responsibilities a captain should perform but it was obligatory to attend the captain's meeting each and every single morning, even if you were in a bad and killing mood. 

Every time it was the same thing, they all delivered their reports concerning the status and schedules for different duties of their divisions. It wasn't truly necessary for all of them to unite in one single place day after day, --especially considering that some captains didn't got along that well-- and hear each other's reports. It would be far easier for them to just deliver written reports instead of continuing these meetings.

But old traditions die hard and probably another thousand years would pass after Aizen's fall before the 'new generations' would find the daily meetings useless after nothing happened.

It was in one of those meetings Ichigo, who was the new captain of the fifth division, was delivering his report, one that his vice-captain had probably done most as the orange haired man didn't have any patience to do it himself and as was normal he didn't look happy about it.

But really neither was he. Byakuya was not only bored but he was also angry. Just minutes before the captain's meeting started he had caught Ichigo and his sister in a torrid kiss that looked like it was only the start of something else. It had not pleased the head of the Kuchiki clan at all and he would have killed him, regardless of the rules, if it hadn't been for Ukitake holding him back.

Had Ichigo been the one standing in front of him instead of Shunsui, he was certain that he could have willed the death of the orange haired captain with a single glare.

A slight brush against his hand brought him back to awareness; Ichigo was still delivering his report. Just how much longer was that thing was anyway? This made it quite obvious that it was not his turn to deliver his just yet. Usually, on those very rare instances in which he would space out, Unohana who had always stood beside him had quite recently developed the habit of brushing her hand against his to let him know it was his turn to report.

Just when he was about to disregard the incident as an accident her hand brushed against his again, less than a minute later she did it again and he realized that she was teasing him. He kept a blank expression trying to ignore her and getting her to stop. It worked for about fifteen seconds before she ran two of her fingertips along the length of his index and middle finger sending light tingles through his skin.

Quite slowly Byakuya looked around the room to check if any of the others had noticed. Everyone seemed to be minding their own business either looking down or accomplishing the amazing feat of sleeping standing up, making it seem as if they were actually listening. As no one had paid attention to what the captain of the fourth division had been doing, he decided to return her the favor and brushed his hands against Unohana's, a slight upward quirk of lips appeared on his face when she gasped quietly, startled at his response.

That was how a rather strange game of hand brushing had started between them. It finally ended when she lightly tugged at the sleeve of his captain robe, a blatant and clear sign that she wanted him to look her way but doing in that place was just simply out of question for him and he ignored her again.

Finally the woman stopped and settled with a sad sigh escaping from her lips. Strangely he hated knowing that she was sad and more so that he had been the cause of it, he couldn't look at her in those moments with all the captains united and having them reading between lines regarding their acquaintance. They had enough of that already and he didn't want to cause more rumors regarding it.

But apparently Unohana had quite a different opinion, quite unashamedly she took his hand, once again he quickly looked around but not one had noticed anything. Slight electric tingles ran up his spine when she started to gently and slowly rub his palm with her thumb, it was one of the first thing she had learned he enjoyed once he allowed it and she took advantage of it. Unwillingly his eyes closed and he started to relax.

However just as suddenly as that action had come it was ended, leaving his hand strangely empty. Against his own good judgment Byakuya turned to look at her; Unohana had a small smile on her face while she silently and briefly regarded him with a teasing glint in her azure eyes before she looked away. A barely there smile came to his face, the meeting had bored her to the point that she had decided to act a bit boldly and entertain them both in that rare way.

"Kuchiki-taichou, if you're done watching Unohana-taichou, we would like to hear your report" The grave and wise of Yamamoto said simply.

The captain of the sixth division snapped only to notice that everyone was looking at him and then at her. He was as calm as he always was, composing himself and adopting his blank expression. He ignored everyone, especially Ichigo who now had a mocking grin on his face, and delivered his report like if absolutely nothing had happened.

* * *

Kukuku…this actually came from a personal experience, when I was back in school everyone morning we were obligated to go to the soccer field and have this odd meetings, the teacher walked among the rows of students to see if we were paying attention, I always stood besides a friend of mine that every time he fell asleep, standing up, and a teacher came close I brushed his hand to woke him up. 

Somehow I can picture Unohana and Byakuya doing that


	6. Mistletoe and Holly

_**Title: **Mistletoe and Holly._**  
**_**Theme: **#19 red._

_**Disclaimer: **I don't own the characters, wish that I did but they belong to Kubo Tite and his people, me only borrowing them for awhile._

_**Dedicated to: **This is a Christmas gift for Sherence, thanks for your help and I hope that you like it._

* * *

He was starting to develop a terrible headache while he wondered for the millionth time how did he end up allowing his sister to do this? 

Well, it wasn't as if Rukia had actually asked for his permission at first. By the time Byakuya had discovered what she was doing, Rukia had the main room of the manor decorated with things that she said were quite normal in the human world during the Christmas season, and, apparently, his sister had liked the holiday enough to celebrate it in Soul Society.

Byakuya had allowed her to finish what she had been doing, mostly because Rukia had already set a Christmas tree in the middle of the room and it was decorated so intricately that he knew she must have snuck out of her room every night to accomplish such a feat, that and she had given him a pitiful teary puppy eyed look that would have broken stronger wills than his.

Of course, if he had known that Rukia had planned to throw a Christmas party after she finished decorating the place and that his house would host a bunch of drunken shinigami who had had a tad to much of the eggnogthat his former vice-captain had spiked with God knows how much alcohol, he would have forbidden her from continuing and ordered her to return the room to it's original bare glory.

_On the twelfth day of Christmas, _

_my true love sent to me _

_Twelve drummers drumming, _

_Eleven pipers piping, _

_Ten lords a-leaping, _

_Nine ladies dancing, _

_Eight maids a-milking, _

_Seven swans a-swimming, _

_Six geese a-laying, _

_Five golden rings, _

_Four calling birds, _

_Three French hens, _

_Two turtle doves, _

_And a partridge in a pear tree!_

The dignified head of the Kuchiki clan winced and closed his eyes feeling his headache getting worse. He was tempted to get himself another serving of that damned eggnog, after all there was a limit to how long a sober man could listen to Renji, Ikkaku and Shunsui 'sing' Christmas carols in their best Oh-my-God-someone-is-killing-a-cat shrill voices. since all the other people present were ecstatic with the spur of the moment party, Byakuya concluded that their minds were so hazed in alcohol that they were actually hearing Renji, Ikkaku, and Shunsui sing like a chorus of angels.

At some point or another Ichigo, Shuhei, Kira and Yumichika had decided to join into the singing as well…. yakuya concluded their minds were so hazed in alcohol that they were actually hearing them sing like a chorus of angels.

_O__h! You better watch out,  
You better not cry,  
You better not pout,  
I'm telling you why: _

_**S**__**anta Claus is coming to town!!!!!!**_

And that was it, next thing he knew he found himself in front of the punch bowl and drinking the spiked eggnog. Desperate times called for desperate measures, of course being whom he was, he was not going to drink as much as to get hammered enough to wake the next day with a killer hang-over. Byakuya was only going to drink enough to leave himself numb enough to stand the horrid singing and keep his ears from bleeding when his eardrums exploded.

Nearly seven cups of eggnog later, the singing had become more bearable and he was unbothered by the fact that there was a party on his family estate. Of course, despite his state he had carefully saved in a safe place of his mind the self note to make Rukia clean all the mess. After all, it had been she who had caused it so it was more than appropriate for her to clean up. And he would make sure to stay away from her; he didn't want to risk another encounter with her puppy eyed look. Besides Ichigo and Renji were going to help her clean, Byakuya would make sure of that.

His onyx eyes looked about the room and he immediately noticed something that caught his attention. It wasn't the people that were crammed into the place or the fact that Soi Fong was moving about like a hyperactive bunny. No, what had called his attention was just how much red was in the room, from bows that adorned the tree and walls, the small berries that weaved through the wreaths that Rukia had brought from the human world to the fabric of the kimonos most of the women were wearing.

It was a bit dizzying to see that colour in such quantity, the last time he had seen so much of it was in the war against Aizen and that was not a happy memory. Regardless of how numb he seemed to be, the memory of that confrontation still was imbedded in him to the very core. No amount of alcohol could make him forget that.

"This is not the moment or the place to think of such things." The unmistakable voice of the fourth division captain gently whispered to him.

As usual he directed her a sidelong glance, he was slightly relieved to notice that she was wearing a forest green kimono instead of the choice all the other women had made.

"You're not wearing red"

"Well…Rukia-san told me that green was also a traditional colour so I decided to choose it; apparently I made a good choice." She replied a bit amused that he had stated the obvious just to avoid the subject. "How much eggnog have you had Byakuya-sama?"

"…Enough to stand the pathetic excuse of their singing."

"Hmm…I've to confess that I have done the same." She had wanted to laugh a bit when she noticed the flash of disbelief on his eyes while the rest of his expression remained just the same as always. "Is not that surprising? I can have alcohol from times to times; it's not as if I'm a saint or something."

"You might as well be one." His voice faintly echoed around them.

"I'll take that as a compliment since you don't give those so easily, but I assure you that I'm not a saint." She had never considered herself to be one despite how much people told her that her demeanour resembled one. "A saint would never have never taken the lives of others in order to accomplish a mission."

He finally turned to look at her. "We are shinigami that had to be done."

The woman merely shrugged and didn't reply, the memories of the past war clung heavily to every person that had been involved in it and he concluded that she wasn't an exception. With a small sigh she raised her head and a tiny smile appeared on her face.

"Mistletoe." She said and pointed upwards.

"Hn?"

With an almost indifferent tilt of his head he noticed the green parasitic plant that hung over them. He had noticed that Rukia had placed them strategically around the room. Byakuya had asked her what was the point in them and his sister had graciously answered him with a small flush on her cheeks. But he couldn't exactly remember her full answer other than the fact that it was a Christmas tradition.

Having ended his examination of the green plant, he once again directed his attention to his companion. Byakuya was completely taken by surprise by the sudden feel of Unohana's supple and soft warm lips against his own. Before his mind could fully grasp on the fact that the captain of the fourth division was kissing him in a room filled with other shinigami or the almost alien tingling sensation on his lips, she pulled away.

"Merry Christmas, Byakuya-sama"

She smiled at him one last time before she turned around, leaving him standing there stunned under the mistletoe watching her retreating form and trying to fully process just what the hell had happened.

* * *

_God, there's to much OCC'ness in this, but I blame it on the effect of the spiked eggnog because believe me, you can act pretty strange after having too much spiked eggnog, and the Christmas cheer…not to mention that I've been sick ._

_Besides I didn't wanted to have a Ebenezer Scrooge(Sp?) type of Byakuya on this Christmas inspired one-shot, we have enough of that, besides I gave them a bit of angst which also seems a bit OCC on a Unohana in that time of the year._


	7. Professional Care

**Theme: **#18. "say ahh…"

**Beta: **Bakageta

**Disclaimer: **I don't own the characters, wish that I did but they belong to Kubo Tite and his people, me only borrowing them for awhile.

* * *

This was certainly not a situation that he had wanted to be in. It was the most shameful and hindering situation that he could find himself in. A situation that he hadn't been in since he had been a child…A sudden cough escaped him and he couldn't help but cringe at it.

It wounded his pride to no end that he, the 28th head of the Kuchiki clan and captain of the 6th division, had been taken down by a simple flu. Worse than that was that he had to leave his division in the inexpert hands of his lieutenant, Nakashima Kimiko, he had yet to understand how Renji could have been placed as a captain. And he couldn't keep a proper eye on Rukia, not like he didn't trust her, because he did, the problem was that he didn't trust Ichigo with his little sister.

For the sake of his mental health he decided not to think about it. With a barely there sigh he once again laid down and gazed at the ceiling. It was the second time in his life that he had willingly stayed in bed because someone asked him to. The first time it had been when he had a very high fever when he was a child and his mother had asked him to rest, he hadn't agreed very quickly but in the end he was in bed.

Somewhere in the back of his mind he blamed Ichigo for being sick; after all it had been the orange-haired shinigami that had _accidentally_ pushed him into the chilling waters of the pond. It had probably been a plan to leave him incapacitated so Ichigo could do whatever he wanted with Rukia without him being there to keep an eye on things.

His eyes widened and a sudden sense of panic overcame him, something that he didn't realized his expression showed until it was pointed out to him…

"Don't worry." The voice of Unohana filled the room breaking the heavy silence that had enveloped it. "It's not good if you worry for nothing…"

"It's not for nothing."

"Many would think that it is. After all they are old enough to know what they are doing and, I'm sorry to say this, they don't need to be baby sat." She retorted and moved her hand to a glass that held the thermometer to cool it off. "You need to trust your sister and Yachiru."

He turned to look at her "Yachiru?"

"Yes, since I can't keep an eye on them since I have to watch over you, well, she offered to watch Ichigo and Rukia, she's been invading their private time ever since you got sick."

"Hmm…" Now he would have to find a way to thank the child for it.

"Yachiru-chan already has something in mind, so don't worry…" With a light shake of the thermometer she looked over at him with a small smile. "Now, say ahh…"

Though his facial expression was practically none, his eyes glimmered with annoyance and anger. "It's _great_ that you still manage to crack jokes at my expense."

"I'm sorry, I couldn't help myself." She apologized slightly amused, granted she did feel bad at making fun at him sometimes but she still needed to make him lighten up. With a shake of her head she replaced the thermometer in the glass. "I'll check your temperature later, though I'm sure it has lowered."

"How long do I have to remain in bed now?"

"Considering that, miraculously enough, you have followed my instructions; I trust that you'll be better by the end of the week." She answered; it was incredible how the man seemed to hate bed rest so much. "Is that okay with you, your highness?"

This time he actually frowned. "Stop mocking me, you know that I don't like…" Whatever he was going to say next was ruefully interrupted when his _doctor _suddenly straddled him and comfortably settled on his lap "…Retsu."

"I kind of like to have you bedridden on mutual accord." She rested her hands on his chest. "It's the only time you let me take care you without any complaints."

"You say it like you're always taking care of me." He said quite mildly.

"I do. You might not notice it but I do. There are times were you can be so reckless that not even you realize that." The tone of her voice was softly compelling and it reminded him that now she was the one who knew him better than anyone else. "Just like you think that I don't notice that you're also constantly taking care of me, making sure that even the smallest thing is in place, it's the same when I do it for you."

Of course she would notice that, she was a healer after all and had quite a sensitive demeanour to such things, but he hadn't noticed that she did the same for him. Maybe it had been because of the fact that he was focused on doing that for her and keeping it a secret. A light amused laugh left her mouth, one that he could clearly interpret as _'stop thinking so hard about it, I know and its okay_'. He knew her enough to know that she was thinking something along those lines.

Knowing that he had understood the message in her laugh, of course he would, her hands shifted to his shoulders and, deliberately slow, she closed the distance between them to rest her lips over his. It was supposed to only be a small chaste press of lips, nothing more than that, but somewhere along the way the simple kiss changed into a more intensive one and she had somehow ended on her back…

…Well there was never anything wrong in the current direction of their actions, right?

The answer to that question came the next day. Instead of Byakuya being the one in bed resting a flu it was Unohana. Luckily no one had really found it overly strange that he was suddenly alright while she was now ill. Everyone had just concluded that, given that she was the captain of the fourth division, a flu had been nothing she couldn't heal, and that she was ill for being the one to take care of him every day. They didn't find it strange that the fourth division captain got ill so easily.

But she had indeed taken care of him, in some ways that were ethically reproachable and now that had gotten her ill. With a defeated sigh she once again lay down and tried to ignore the fact that she was ill.

"You'll be better in no time." The voice of the sixth division captain sounded, dare she say, mocking. "I conclude that it's only right that I reciprocate the care you gave me."

Now she was sure this would be the end of her. Not only was she sick for being reckless but now he had cracked a joke. Yes, this was the end of the world as they knew it.

* * *

_Well it should be obvious that the one-shots are not related to each other, one time they can be an established couple and the others getting close to being a couple, this piece of work was a bit __odd, I mean Unohana is quite bold, but then again even we silent and composed women can pull out a stunt like that from our sleeves, and Byakuya, __the man needs to light up a bit he needs to be a bit more bold ands stop being so tight(¬¬), geez._


	8. Downsides of Popularity

_**Theme: **7. superstar_

_**Disclaimer: **I don't own the characters, wish that I did but they belong to Kubo Tite and his people, me only borrowing them for awhile._

* * *

The captain of the fourth division was one of the few female Shinigami who wasn't a member of the Shinigami Women's Association. Just like Nakashima Kimiko, though that didn't mean that she hadn't been asked to join, just that she wasn't interested in joining. Though from time to time she did attend some of the meetings just to humor her lieutenant, Rukia, and Yachiru who had asked, well more like pleaded, for her to attend. 

It wasn't like if she thought that the SWA was a waste of time, it was merely that she most likely wouldn't fit in with them. Most of their meetings were quite lively, for lack of a better word, and she was more like the type of woman that enjoyed peace and calm. She was a supporter of the SWA but a distant supporter and that worked fine for her. However she hadn't expected that she would find Matsumoto in her office after she had made her routine rounds in her division to make sure that everything was in order.

"Matsumoto-san," The gentle captain greeted politely as she always did, "What brings you here? Does your taichou need something?"

"I'm not here because my taichou sent me." Matsumoto answered with her usual happy tone, "I'm here due to Shinigami Women's Association business."

Unohana stared at her for a few seconds "I see."

"To make things short, Unohana-taichou, we kind of need your help for the new resolution that we came up with last meeting." Matsumoto said, quickly skipped any more pleasantries, getting right to point.

"And just what kind of resolution would that be that you think I can help you with?"

"Well in our last meeting we voted, yet once again, Kuchiki-taichou as the captain that we wish to release a photo book of. Last time we couldn't solidify that but this time it will be different." Matsumoto brightly smiled at the woman who was technically her superior. "This time we have decided to ask for your help in taking the pictures for our awaited Kuchiki-taichou photo book."

The captain of the fourth division let the information to fully sink into her mind. "As much as I'm flattered that you deem my _help _in such a project necessary, wouldn't Rukia-san be more appropriate for that? She's his sister, after all, and lives with him which gives her better access to him."

"Yeah, we believed the same last time, but he found out and most of the photos were, well, not good and they left a lot to wish for. There was not even a smile on that handsome face of his." Matsumoto replied with a defeated sigh while she remembered their last attempt at making the project. "Now he's very careful with Rukia about that."

"I understand," Unohana said, now that she thought back on a conversation she had with him a year ago, he had mentioned that Rukia had tried to take photos of him for the SWA, "But what makes you think that I'll have better luck?"

"Well, after Rukia you're the only other person in Soul Society that he spends more time with and seems to fully trust. Which, mind you, is the proper behavior people should have with their lovers…?"

"Though part of your information is correct, Matsumoto-san, I feel in the obligation to inform you that I and Kuchiki-sama are not involved in such a way." Unohana gently and politely interrupted the tenth division lieutenant.

"You're not! Are you completely sure?" Matsumoto asked in pure disbelief and her shoulders fell when the woman nodded to confirm it. "That's such a shame; I guess that means that we will have to take you out of the poll for 'best couple' this year."

Unohana barely blinked at that comment. "I suppose so."

"Pity, you were ahead of Ichigo and Rukia." Matsumoto sighed while pondering how the SWA was going to take it. "Anyway, would you at least help us with the pictures?"

Unohana sighed once Matsumoto left. There were some things that the SWA did that appalled her a bit, but since stalking was not on her list of things to do, she supposed that, just as long as no one got hurt, she didn't have much to complain about, or at least she thought that she shouldn't have.

•¨¤¨•§•¨¤¨•§•¨¤¨•§•¨¤¨•§•¨¤¨•§•¨¤¨•§•¨¤¨•

Meanwhile, Byakuya was finishing the last load of paperwork that Kimiko had brought him. Though he would never mention it out loud, he had to give the girl some credit for her work as a lieutenant; it was much more effective than the work Renji had done. Kimiko was very similar to her older sister Kanoe, the woman who had occupied the spot as lieutenant before Renji when Byakuya first became the captain of the sixth division. He had been forced to replace Kanoe when she had been killed on a mission.

All in all Nakashima Kanoe still represented the idea that he had for a lieutenant but her little sister was actually doing great work at catching up with the spot her sister had left despite their different personalities. Byakuya was the type of man to recognize the worth of the people who deserved it and give them the proper credit for a job well done. A sudden knock drew his attention from the paperwork.

"Come in."

The door slid open and the new light-brown haired lieutenant stepped inside. "Kuchiki-taichou, you have a visitor."

"Who is it?"

Kimiko suddenly grinned and her emerald eyes brighten a bit. "Unohana-taichou, are you going to receive her?" She had wanted to laugh at the sudden pointed look that he gave her but refrained herself. "I'll inform her."

The lieutenant stepped out with a small unreadable smile on her lips; he couldn't properly hear what was said between her and the captain of the fourth division but it took longer than he expected as five minutes later Unohana entered accompanied by Kimiko, who still had quite a suspicious smile on her face. She waited for the Unohana to take a seat before she looked expectantly at her own captain.

"You may retire now, Kimiko." He said mildly, not knowing just what was she expecting from him. "Also…we're not to be disturbed."

A huge smile appeared on Kimiko's face. "As you order, sir." She mock saluted before she left the office, closing the door behind her.

"Has Nakashima-san fully adapted to her new post as a lieutenant?" Unohana asked him to divert his attention from the absent woman.

"She has, so far I don't have any complaints in her performance." He answered simply and directed his onyx hued eyes to her. "Though personality wise she seems to be a mix of Kanoe and Renji."

"Well, I suppose that will work just fine with you. Kanoe-san was a lot like you and Abarai-san was your complete opposite, so since Kimiko-san seems to be a mix of both of them it will be a nice balance for you." She commented quite wisely.

"Perhaps," He ruefully agreed with her, "But what brings you here? I doubt that you came all the way here to talk about my lieutenant."

"And you're right." She tilted her head slightly sideways and smiled very gently at him. "I wanted to merely see you."

His eyes widened slightly at that comment. "You only came here to see me?"

"Pretty much." She reaffirmed as if it was the simplest thing in the world.

Of all the things she had been expecting as an answer the small barely there smile that appeared on his face was the last thing she expected. She didn't understand why he didn't smile more often as he looked much more handsome when he smiled. Now she knew why he was so popular among the members of the SWA and she couldn't really help but to smile back.

"Finally there it is!!!" Before they realized it Kimiko was inside and snapped a picture of her barely smiling captain. "I can see money in my future!"

Immediately Byakuya glared at his lieutenant and stood up. "What's the meaning of this!?"

"Ohh, well you see the Shinigami Women Association offered to pay me good money for a single picture of you, smiling, so I just had to patiently wait." Kimiko took a step backwards toward the door to make and hasty exit. "Next time maybe you and Unohana-taichou can kiss because I've also been offered money for that picture for the best couple, so hurry up with that!"

As quickly as Kimiko could manage she left, leaving the two shocked captains behind in the office. Apparently the SWA had a backup plan in case Unohana rejected the proposal of snapping the picture of Byakuya. But she never suspected it would be his own lieutenant. She looked over at him and almost, key word here being almost, flinched when she noticed the cold raw anger reflected in his eyes.

"Don't take it too seriously." She said softly before placing her hand on top of his in a vain attempt to soothe him a bit. "You always knew you were popular with them."

"Hn…" Taking in consideration that he actually had a guest he once again sat down and took a deep breath.

"Never thought they would actually offer her money for this." She commented while she drew her hand away.

"I'll have to talk with her…" His tone of voice made it quite clear that he was still angry at Kimiko, but had decided to concentrate on the rest of his paper work. "…When I do kiss you, I'll make sure my lieutenant is very far from us."

Her eyes widened a bit at that last comment and for some seconds she didn't know what to make of it. Had he said it without realizing it or was it a joke? But when they briefly locked eyes, well, she understood that he wasn't lying. She just expected that when that did happen none of the members of the SWA would be around, or else…

* * *

_Wanted to play a bit with the SWA and give a more information into Kimiko since I'll be using her in quite a lot of fictional work, don't pay much mind to Kanoe, I just mentioned her here since there has been no mention of the lieutenant that Byakuya had before Renji became his because as you remember Renji was in the Academy when Byakuya became a captain. No kiss __here only implied that there might be some in the future._


	9. Preparations

**Theme: **26. If only I could make you mine

**Beta:** Bakageta

**Disclaimer:** I don't own the characters, wish that I did but they belong to Kubo Tite and his people, me only borrowing them for awhile.

**Warnings:** Slight spoilers of chapter 297 and probably onwards.

* * *

–_Why can't you admit that you're actually worried?-_

Kuchiki Byakuya opened his eyes when the ethereal asexual voice echoed in his mind; the same voice that so long ago had whispered its name to him. The captain of the sixth division was waiting for the orders that Yamamoto had given to them to be followed as soon as it was possible.

'_I do not deny that I am worried'_

–_Of course not, but I wasn't referring to Soul Society or your sister, I'm very aware of such things, I was referring to __**her**__-_

'_It seems Senbonzakura that you're not as keen as you used to be'_

The zanpakutou throbbed almost to show it's indignation to that insult _–If I were you brat, I'd be more careful with your words, especially since you're going to need me to fight in the coming war-_

'_Hmm, I wonder…' _The captain of the sixth division unconsciously placed his hand on the hilt of his sword tightly _'…If that's a threat'_

–_Probably…it all depends. But we have moved too much from my original question, I'm still waiting for an answer-_

'_To answer your previous question, I'm not worried about her' _

–_Alright, if it makes you feel better to say that then suit yourself, but if you ask…-_

The captain of the sixth division decided to ignore the tirade of his zanpakutou about his life. Sometimes he entertained the idea of not wanting to know the name of it, though that only happened when Senbonzakura got the idea of expressing its opinion regarding his private life, which didn't occur very often. If it did he might have gotten rid of the sword a long time ago.

"About damn time you arrived! Holy mother!" The crude voice of Kenpachi exclaimed and even though they were at some distance it still sounded far to close. "Don't you see that I can't wait to kick some ass"

"I am sorry for taking so long," The gentle and elegant tone of the captain of the fourth division was an agreeable change and quite welcomed to his ears. "But there were some last minute details I had to take care of."

With that said the captain of the fourth division appeared at his left side, the same spot she usually took on the captains meetings. Out of the corner of his eye he watched her and like always she was calm and composed. The fact that they were being sent to the core of where their enemies laid didn't seem to affect her in the slightest, just as it should be for a person in her position in a time of war.

The woman didn't look overconfident or worried for their situation; she just wore a neutral face, not betraying just what she thought of the situation they were in. All the captains had undergone special training that had increased their powers immensely and she hadn't been an exception. Unohana Retsu was quite a rare woman, she was too kind and gentle, just fitting for the fourth division, she also had this elegant air and sometimes she looked too pretty and fragile, not like a captain, but like him she had attained shikai and bankai, proving that she was strong.

–_Interesting, not only do you find her eye pleasing and strong…your taste seem to be quite different compared to last time.-_

'_I thought that you had given up on that topic already?'_

–_I did, but when I noticed your lines of thoughts I just couldn't help myself. Besides if I could I would smack you for not accepting the reality.-_

'_Stop it…' _He narrowed his eyes a bit in annoyance. _'…There's nothing that I have to accept.'_

"Kuchiki-sama?" His name came out in the voice of the captain of the fourth division "Are you alright?"

He looked down at her, azure orbs were looking up at him with some concern "I am fine, Unohana-taichou."

She regarded him for some seconds before she absently nodded and looked away. Technically he was fine, unless you counted the bothersome zanpakutou who was trying to force some strange notions into his head regarding his personal life and the gentle captain who was standing beside him.

–_You know…- _The zanpakutou hummed at his side, only for him to feel it ,_–Maybe you should tell her, or better yet show her, what she has slowly started to wake in you.-_

'_Tell me; is it possible for a zanpakutou to be delusional, Senbonzakura?'_

–_And now you're insulting me when I'm probably the being that understands you the best. I, after all, have residence in your mind-_

Byakuya resisted the urge to roll his eyes; he had too much dignity to do that _'Just to humor you. Why do you think I should do it?'_

–_You're quite intelligent to figure it out yourself, but since you insist I'll kindly remind you: Soul Society is in a war against Hueco Mundo and we don't know what will happen, this could be your only chance to do it, what if she…-_

'_Don't you dare to finish that' _His eyes hardened, though luckily he was staring into a blank space and not a poor low leveled shinigami who had annoyed him _'That won't happen to her.'_

–_You sound so optimistic yet scared at the same time, not even you know what will happen. I won't deny that she's strong but the enemies are also powerful.-_

'_Do you really think that I don't know that?' _He questioned back and quite unconsciously turned to look at the captain that was besides him, feeling his eyes she looked at him and lightly smiled. _'…But she won't die, I am quite confident that her skills will ensure her survival.'_

–_Simple words yet so full of feeling, it had been so long since I heard you talking like that. Ohh Byakuya, you must understand that you can move on with your life, it is not a crime, a sin or a betrayal to Hisana if you do-_

'_Senbonzakura…' _It was a warning, a very poignant one.

–_No, this time I won't be quiet, you'll hear me. You have suffered enough and it's time for you to get over it, and you are, but you deny accepting it- _The voice stopped waiting for a reply that didn't came, a sigh before it continued _–You have never been the type to deny yourself anything, when you want something you don't stop till you get it, you're even probing it with this war, but with her you're holding yourself, why?-_

'…_I just can't bring myself to achieve that feat.' _He winced a bit at that simple confession, it felt foreign to him.

–_You'll have to come to a decision soon, before it's too late. Now it seems that everything is ready for your new orders.-_

And just like his zanpakutou had said one of the four gates to La Garganta, the path that would take them to Hueco Mundo was opened and after some last details from Yamamoto, that were little more than good luck words, they were ready to go. The first one that jumped through the gate was Kenpachi, who was more than ready to fight for all that he was worth, with Yachiru over his shoulder.

"Ha, see you on the other side" Kenpachi smirked, in the particular way that only he could before he stepped through the door, though not before saying "For their own good they better have strong adversaries."

"Come on, Nemu." Mayuri also started to walk to one of the doors away from the other two captains; the woman obediently followed her captain. "Let's see if we can find some good specimens here that are worth my time."

Finally the only ones left behind were Byakuya and Retsu. She looked over at him briefly, still a bit worried for him after the strange behavior that he had displayed earlier. When he didn't look back at her a small sigh escaped her before she motioned to the two members of her division to move towards one of the doors.

Her vice-captain nodded starting to walk followed by Hanatarou, who had been sent to fill out the space of Renji. The captain of the fourth division opened her mouth to say something but at the last minute decided not to say anything and turned around to catch up with the members of her division. She had barely taken a step when a hand suddenly wrapped about her small wrist in a gentle forceful grip. She stopped and turned to look at her fellow captain.

A small silent gasp escaped her when she became aware of just how close the captain of the sixth division was to her now. "Kuchiki-sama…"

"Unohana-taichou…" Acting in the strangest behavior he had had in quite awhile he moved closer to her but at the last minute changed his course to whisper against her ear "…Be careful."

She shuddered a bit when his lips brushed against her ear when he said that. "I will, Kuchiki-sama. I hope that you will be careful as well."

The sixth division captain nodded and released her wrist and moved to his own door while she looked at him. When she reached the members of her division she sent Hanatarou to go with said captain, knowing that he would probably go in search of his sister and if she was hurt a member of her division might be able to aid a bit on that. It was the only thing she could do to assure herself as well.

* * *

_Byakuya talking with Senbonzakura, I have seen that idea worked out not with Byakuya but I have and well I concluded that since the zanpakutou reveals its name to its wielder that means probably conversations could take place. Also I think that from now on I'll start writing Retsu instead of Unohana, is shorter and that just shows how lazy I am._

_Also I know that this also lacks of a proper kiss –insert evil laugh here- but I don't think people miss them so much anyway, maybe depending on reviews the next installment might have one. _


	10. Reminiscence

**Theme:** 4. our distance and that person  
**Acknowledgement:** To my dearest little brother _Tetsuya Shiraishi.  
_**Disclaimer:** I don't own the characters, wish that I did but they belong to Kubo Tite and his people, me only borrowing them for awhile.  
**Author Note's:** I decided to change the piece, I wasn't satisfied with the other one and hopefully this will be more agreeable for everyone. Also there might be slight spoilers of chapter 179 of the manga due the situation involving Hisana.

Also I know that Retsu and Hisana never met, but this was in partly inspired by **"The Untold Stories"** by _hello heartbreak_ that had a mention of such a meeting happening in the chapter _"Dear Diary"_ besides as my lil bro put it, well it's fiction.

This is also unbetaed, will replace it with the betaed eventually.

* * *

He barely reacted when the door to his room was opened keeping his gaze steady outside the window and didn't turned even when the door was silently closed, he really didn't needed to turn around to see who his visitor was since the spirit pressure was enough clue as to its identity, the presence of that particular person was something that he had gotten rather used now being the most obvious result to the constant visit at the same hour every day.

"How are you feeling today, Kuchiki-taicho?"

It was the same question everyday and his answer had rarely changed with each passing day but still he always answered "…Fine"

"Glad to hear that" The sound of a chair being placed besides his bed echoed in the room followed by a shift of robes arranged to take a proper seat "Would you please turn to look at me?"

Expelling a rather imperceptive sigh Byakuya turned to face Retsu, the gentle healer smiled at him with her that patented quirk of lips filled with such a deep compassion that could touch almost anyone but there wasn't a reaction coming from him, not that she was very surprised since it was quite normal a thing now. Raising her arm she extended it towards his chest giving him a last look she rested two fingers against his chest to check his condition…

"Did you do this with her?" He suddenly asked her

The fourth division captain looked up at him "Why?"

"Because it will explain why you arrived to a diagnostic so quickly" He countered turning look at her with quite a blank expression "So did you?"

A deep silence fell around them, she looked down at her glowing green digits pressed against his chest and with a deep sigh she finally nodded her answer trying to ignore that onyx eyes that were now fixed on her…

•**¨¤¨•§•¨¤¨•§•¨¤¨•§•¨¤¨•§•¨¤¨•§•¨¤¨•§•¨¤¨•**

_A fresh wisp of spring air mixed with the scent of the flowers that were the first to bloom filled the room instantly freshen it up from the stale scent of illness and closure that had enclosed on it for days now, it had been a scent that had started to make her dizzy if she could be frank but understood why she was being kept in those conditions but that didn't meant that she didn't wanted to have fresh air after being closed up for so long and her sudden visit had allowed it to feel it._

"_Has the plum tree bloomed?"_

"_If you are referring to the one in your garden it's still bare, but I'm sure it won't take long for it to sprout its first flowers of the season"_

"_I hope so…Unohana-san, I want to see the first bloom like I have done every year"_

"_Hmm…" The fourth division captain finally took a seat besides the futon of the ill woman she had come to see "I understand your want to see the first bloom, Hisana-sama, but I must admit that I prefer to see the last bloom of every spring"_

_Hisana tilted her head slightly to the side "How come?"_

"_It's all due to my mother I suppose…" A small wistful smile appeared on Retsu's face, her mother was always a nice memory "She always said that the last bloom was the most beautiful because it took longer to show all its magnificence to hold on and bloom the last"_

"_Your mother was a very wise woman" Hisana finally said with a smile_

_The fourth division captain smiled back before she instructed the smaller woman to move to face her, very slowly and carefully Hisana tried to do just but quite obviously Retsu had been forced to help her, quite apparently her illness was causing her to be more exhausted than usual and Retsu took a mental note of just how much that small exertion had exhausted her and made her breathing a bit more difficult and demanding._

_Giving the customary kind and gentle smile that she had reserved for her patients Retsu raised her arm and then pressed her middle and fore finger against Hisana's chest, the ill woman watched with some interest and curiosity when a glowing pale green light enveloped the fingers of the healer, a small sigh of relief escaped Hisana's lips when a warm feeling seemed to envelop her completely relaxing her tired muscles and relieving some pressure from her lungs._

_When the healer retrieved her fingers Hisana felt a bit better with the wisps of that strange feeling clinging to her limbs and body yet despite that she knew that she wasn't good just yet, what Retsu had just done was a small healing to alleviate her a bit while she tried to figure what was wrong with her to begin with, she looked into the fourth captain but nothing was revealed in her expression._

"_I will help you to lay down, Hisana-sama" _

_Mutely the woman nodded and allowed her to help her back to the futon; the feeling of the bedding against her back gave Hisana a sudden revelation. The healer didn't needed to say anything, Hisana perfectly understood her situation, she had suspected it since she had became ill but had denied to believe it just yet but in the silence of the healer she found all the confirmation that she needed._

"_I will provide you with some medicine, Hisana-sama" The fourth division captain primly rested her hands over her lap "I'll send a member of my division to instruct to whomever that's going to administrate and prepare the medicines correctly"_

_A small sigh escaped Hisana's lips "Why?"_

"_Hisana-sama?"_

"_Why are you going to leave me medicines if you know that I'm going to die regardless?" A small smile appeared on her tired face when she was met with sudden silence "I have been aware that my condition is very bad and there's nothing that you can do"_

"_If you had approached me the when you started to feel anything was wrong I will have been able to help you properly and you'll be fine" There was no point in lying now yet Retsu's tone of voice wasn't reproachful or anything, the woman must have had her reasons not to speak and she wasn't about to judge them "The medicines are to alleviate some of your discomfort that some of the symptoms might bring upon you" _

"…_I can help but feel that you wasted your time, Unohana-san"_

"_I didn't it, even though I'm limited to what I can I was still able to help you even if it was to alleviate your pain and…" For a few seconds she tilted her head to look at the door before returning her gaze to her patient "My presence will relieve some of the worry Kuchiki-taichou feels"_

"_I don't deserve Byakuya-sama worry" _

"_Do not say that, Kuchiki-taicho loves you and…"_

_Before Hisana could help it she shot up in the futon and was crying against the healer chest pouring her heart out, the woman had inspired a sense of security and trust on Hisana and she really needed someone to confide what she felt and had kept bottled for years, the hate she felt for herself for having deserted her little sister, the attempts to search for her, how bad she had felt when she had momentarily forgot her sister when she had enjoyed some instants in that mansion when her sister was probably suffering, the feeling of uselessness of being in bed instead of looking for her yet feeling that this illness was her punishment and her guilt for not loving Byakuya as much as he had loved her._

_Retsu could do nothing more than to let her vent herself of all that and try to soothe her as best as she could, when the small woman finally dried of from the tears and her sobbing had stopped, she helped her to somehow clean her face and then to lay back in the futon._

"_Unohana-san…" Hisana's voice was a bit dry due to all of her crying and her eyes were fixed in the ceiling "What would you do in my place?"_

"…_I don't know, part of me will keep things as they are to spare him any pain even if I condemn myself to my own lies but there's other part of me that will tell him the truth, as painful as it might be for him in some part, but I will pass away feeling free without the lies to chain me down…"_

"_Hmm" Hisana closed her eyes for a little while and opened them when she heard the shift of robes only to see the healer up and walking to the door "Thank you, Unohana-san, you're really a remarkable woman…I'll have wanted to posses some of your qualities"_

"_You have more than enough qualities, Hisana-sama, you don't need more" Retsu briefly turned to give her a small teasing smile "Besides if you had some of my qualities I don't think Kuchiki-taicho will have fallen in love with you"_

_Hisana smiled back "I beg to differ; I think that will have appealed him more"_

"_I will tell Kuchiki-taicho to change you to a more open place where you can have fresh air and probably sight of the plum tree so you can see its first bloom"_

"_Hai that will be lovely" Hisana could feel herself relaxing all the more at the prospect of being in a fresh and open place looking at the sakura tree before she passed "Arigato Gozaimas, Unohana-san"_

_A warm friendly smile appeared on Retsu's face before she turned and slid the shoji door open, Hisana watching her retreating back with a small smile of her own before she started to reflect on the healer words, in no way had she told her what to do and the choice was hers and hers alone so she needed to chose the wisest one…_

•**¨¤¨•§•¨¤¨•§•¨¤¨•§•¨¤¨•§•¨¤¨•§•¨¤¨•§•¨¤¨•**

"…She died two weeks after your visit"

"I know" Mutely she retrieved her digits away once again concluding that he was getting better and she will be able to release him soon "Kanoe-san informed me of it"

"When you told me what was wrong with her, you were very vague with it and though I don't wish to have further knowledge of her illness I do wish to ask you something…" His voice died on his throat for a few moments not really sure if he wanted to know the answer, but he needed an answer "If Hisana had gone to you or at least told me of her symptoms as soon as they started, she will have lived, wouldn't she?"

It will be so easy to lie to him but she couldn't bring herself to do that, as painful as the truth was he needed to know "Yes, but you must understand that most of her focus and worry was put to find Rukia-san not in her own health"

"…Would you have overseen your health, Unohana-san?"

"If I had been in her situation I will, though I tend to oversee my health in a daily basis Kuchiki-sama, I don't have time to worry about myself when I have others to worry about" She answered quite truthfully and it was the true, she rarely concerned more for others than herself "That's why I presume there's a human saying that states that _doctor's are the worst patients_"

A ghost of a smile appeared on Byakuya's face finding it a bit ironic that the captain of the fourth division would admit that but it was probably the truth, the last few days she had seen her working nonstop treating and keeping a check on the wounded that the deflection of the three captains and the ryoka invasion to prevent his sister execution had left behind.

Even now when he looked at her it became obvious to him that she was tired, her skin was to pale and her eyes lacked a certain glow that was always present on them.

"Sumimasen, Kuchiki-sama" She finally broke his observation on her, not that she had really noticed

He cocked a perfectly black eyebrow "Why are you apologizing?"

"For not being able to properly help Hisana-sama, for making you suffer maybe if I had tried or researched further I might have been able to help her instead of only alleviating her discomfort, maybe I…"

"…You did more than enough for her, she told me that she knew since she was bedridden that she was going to die…and you made her last days as painless as they could be…" He took a deep breath and finally turned to look at her "…I wouldn't have been able to see her in the pain her illness would have brought upon her if it hadn't been for the medicines you gave her"

A blank and guarded expression appeared on her face "It was also kind of my fault that Hisana-sama told you that she didn't reciprocated your feelings"

"What?" His tone was blank but his shoulders suddenly tensed

"…She told me everything, all the feelings that she had carefully locked within herself for so many years, after she calmed down she told me what I will do in her position and I told her…" With a slight air of guilt she lowered her face "I told her that part of me would leave things as it was and that the other will tell you the truth as painful as it could be for you"

He was quiet for a few minutes trying to process what she had just told him, finally he took a deep breath "…That wasn't your fault either, Hisana made her own decision to reveal the truth and you had nothing to do with it"

Nothing was said after that because merely for the time being there was nothing more to say, Hisana was still a very tender topic but at least some things had been cleared, Retsu leaned against the chair and looked out of the window now.

"You know in every spring I tend to look at the first and last blooms" She kept her eyes fixedly outside not really wanting to look at him "Those are the most beautiful blooms each spring"

He didn't said anything to that not really knowing what to think of that new piece of information that he had just been provided therefore he decided to settle for staying quiet and quite apparently she hadn't expected him to say something anyway and for a strange reason while he felt a very odd urge to kiss her, he really didn't understood why but he did but he didn't acted up it.

The fourth division captain stayed with him basking on a deep silence till Kimiko appeared for her also daily visits for him, politely she excused herself and left them alone to speak freely; Kimiko occupied the vacant seat to start to talk about everything like she always did.

* * *

_There I feel a bit more satisfied with this piece, feel that it's a lot more decent that my first one that pretty much sucked, in this one I felt more connected and more content, granted it might not be that amazing but it is a great improvement for the last one, which is why I wanted because the last one was __**bad **__very bad. I think I accomplished to deliver a more acceptable response to the theme since it is implied and not boldly mentioned in a sentence which I think gives a better feel to the piece and it was how I interpreted the theme in the idea my bro gave me._

_Also I think that I was more fair to Hisana on this piece, something that I didn't feel in the other one which bothered me a lot but I think this turned out quite good with how I think Hisana might have felt or behaved in her last days._


	11. An Indulgence of Excess

**Theme:** 13. Excessive chain  
**Beta:** Bakageta  
**Word Count:** 2021  
**Disclaimer:** I don't own the characters, wish that I did but they belong to Kubo Tite and his people, I'm only borrowing them for awhile.

* * *

For the millionth time (actually it had only been twenty-five times but who was counting?) he asked himself how he'd gotten himself in this situation? A sudden fit of feminine giggles promptly answered his question.

Byakuya was there because Rukia was there. He was there to keep an eye on his little sister because there was no way he was going to allow his sister to be alone in this kind of party. His older-brother-complex for little-sister-protection came up with this equation…

_Ichigo + Rukia + Uncontrolled amounts of Sake ?_

Something he had rather not think of. The mere idea of his younger sister having her purity tainted by the orange haired shinigami who had defeated him once caused his blood to boil with the barely repressed need to unleash Senbonzakura on him.

But so far Ichigo, who was a tiny bit drunk, hadn't tried to do anything to Rukia, who was also tipsy herself and very vulnerable to any type of move. His lieutenant might have tried something but the foulmouthed red head seemed to be putting all of his efforts into wooing Kimiko, another thing he didn't like now that he thought of it.

"You should enjoy the _party, _Kuchiki-sama." The gentle voice of the fourth division captain commented besides him. "After all we are celebrating."

"Hn." Flexing his arms in front of his chest he gazed at the people gathered there. "Should we be celebrating?"

"I know that the Winter War was… I don't think I need to say, we all know what it meant to all of us and we all know what we had to do to get the upper hand to win." A deep sigh escaped the pale rose lips of the healer while her azure eyes also looked about the place "…We're having this party in order for all of us to alleviate the weight over their shoulders even if it's for a little while."

"…Everyone acts so strange when they have a lot of Sake."

"Ohh…" She actually blinked at that rather random comment from the dignified captain. "Do they?"

All anyone had to do was look about the room to see that it was truth. The members of the eleventh division were acting as usual but there were others that were just too surprising to see. Yamamoto-soutaichou was pretty much dancing with Shunsui about the room while their lieutenants were passed out on the table and Komamura-taichou allowed a non-drunk Yachiru, since she couldn't have sake, to pet him, that was only the start…

On the other side of the room Soifon had pretty much decided that Ukitake was her new teddy bear and was clinging to him as if her life depended on it. Hitsugaya (who had thought it will be a good idea to give sake to him?) had passed out with his head resting on Matsumoto, who was still drinking, and not too far away Shuhei was boldly flirting with Isane who was giggling like crazy.

"…Well alcohol has that uncanny ability of making people forget their inhibitions." She said with a small shrug of her shoulders. "Maybe that's the reason people like it so much."

"Have you had any?" The question was out of his mouth before he could stop it.

"Not yet…" Slowly she took a bottle of sake, which were kindly replaced on each table every five minutes even when the bottles were not even empty. "I conclude that you haven't either since you have been keeping your eyes on Kurosaki-kun and Kuchiki-san, so shall we indulge ourselves a bit?"

He looked at her then at the bottle then at her again. "I don't see why not."

The healer smiled slightly at that answer, one that she quite truthfully hadn't been waiting for. but now that she had been given that rather ambiguous answer, they might as well have at least one drink of sake as they were probably the only ones, besides Yachiru that is, who didn't have any alcohol in their systems and a little bit wouldn't do too much damage

•**¨¤¨•§•¨¤¨•§•¨¤¨•§•¨¤¨•§•¨¤¨•§•¨¤¨•§•¨¤¨•**

Pain, a sharp pain like a million needles piercing through her head, a pain that clearly screamed _hangover._ Apparently she had ended up having a little bit too much to drink. With her soul wracking headache she slowly sat up on the futon, feeling her mouth dry and her muscles way to sore for her liking.

At least, she thanked the gods, she had managed to drag herself to her room. Raising her right hand she applied some pressure to the side of her head before moving her fingers in small soothing circles to try to ease the headache. She was going to need a lot of aspirin, why waste spirit pressure when the aspirin could do the trick?

Maybe she should stay in bed all day and sleep off her hangover, like she assumed most of the inhabitants of Gotei 13 would after a _party _like the one they all had the previous night. At some point or another the gathering had transformed into a full blown insane party from what she could recollect from what had happened the night before. Actually, that going back to bed was quite a tempting idea...

…But she hadn't expected to return to bed like this.

With a sudden yelp that only worsened the state of her headache, she was tugged sideways to the bed only to fall on top of someone. More specifically a male or so she could conclude due to the rather dry groan that came in response, one that also was a killer on her headache. Both occupants of the room sat quickly yet very composedly on the futon.

"If I may know…" She finally said, finding the comforter of the futon very interesting in those moments, the oddly dark hued comforter. "…what are you doing in my room?"

"I consider that a very fair question, but I'm afraid there are two very important details that I need to point out." Very carefully the 6th division captain raised his hand to his head and lightly massaged his temple. "First, this is my room; you're the one invading it. Second, have you realized that you're naked?"

"What!" She looked down at herself and flushed when she confirmed her state of clothing. "For the love of the Kami!"

The slight exclamation worsened the headache that he was also feeling. Suddenly he was tugged and ended crashing on Unohana. The fourth division captain had been far too distracted fretting to expect that and his crash against her frame had sent them both tumbling back to the bed.

"Would you mind getting off me?"

Instead of answering with words he did it with actions and moved off her as quickly as he could manage. When he was safely off her smaller frame –at least compared to his- she sat with a small frown on her face. The two strange tugging sensations had been too rare. The first tug had happened when he had turned sideways and she had scrambled on top of him and the same thing had happened the second time.

Carefully she flexed her left arm and raised it to her chest level, her eyes widened when she noticed a thin metal bracelet locked on her left wrist with a chain hanging down. Dismayed she followed the silver chain, which was slightly longer than customary, only to see it connected to another bracelet locked on his right wrist, numbly she let her arm fall on her lap.

"…So that explains the tugging." He said rather mildly.

"Okay, I just need to relax and have a cool head…" She whispered more to herself not really expecting him to hear her.

The fourth division captain kept repeating that mantra in her head over and over again. She had apparently had way too much to drink and she had quite obviously slept with Byakuya but if that was the case, why the chain? Wasn't that a bit excessive from his part?

A small sigh escaped her lips. "I'm quite surprised to find that you have a kink for S&M…"

"I do not have a kink for S&M." He muttered with narrowed eyes, thanks to Rukia and some magazines she brought from the human world everyone knew what S&M stood for. "Also, who says that you're not the one with that certain liking?"

"Well S&M is not really my cup of tea, judging by the description and I can't fully remember if we actually did that, but it's not in the things that I like when…"

"We really don't need to discuss that." He forcefully interrupted, a bit appalled at what she'd almost said, maybe she was still drunk. "Right now I think it is more important to know just how, exactly, did we end up in this particular situation."

"We got drunk, so far that's clear…" She sighed heavily and turned to look at him. "You know what? Forget about that, just how the hell did we ended up chained together?"

He frowned with obvious displeasure. "Whatever makes you think I'll remember?"

"Maybe after a good rest and some aspirin we will get over our hangovers and remember everything. I mean, a good rest can help." With a heavy sigh she laid down on the futon and stared at the ceiling of his room. "At least that's what I hope."

"Hmm…Are you going to stay here?" Byakuya asked mildly.

"Look, Byakuya, I have a headache, my body is completely sore in places that I didn't even remembered I had, obviously thanks to you, and I'm chained to you. Therefore, you can conclude that this has not been my best morning and I'm tired. I only want to rest for a little while, whether it is in your room or mine." Rather said as she slowly turned to look at him, who was still sitting. "After we're rested, we can go get aspirins and see how we get out of this chain."

"Has it come to your mind that we will probably call a lot of attention? We are, after all, chained together."

"…I'm quite aware of that, as well as the fact that getting back in our clothes will be quite difficult, but we will think about that later, when we have clearer minds…"

Closing her eyes she turned to her side and a small breath escaped her mouth when she once again caught him off-guard and he crashed against her back. She sighed when he tried to move away…

"We've already slept together, Byakuya, a little cuddling wouldn't make a difference." She giggled when he shifted, leaving a respectful distance as much as it could be allowed with a chain, between them. "Suit yourself."

He glared at her back but quickly stopped, there was no point in glaring if she was ignoring it. Minutes ticked by before they both fell asleep and, had he been awake, Byakuya wouldn't have taken very well to the fact that he had pretty much pressed against Retsu.

_**Meanwhile in another part of the manor**_

Rukia moved about her room searching in every crevice, space, and piece of furniture in her room. The orange haired replacement shinigami watched her from the futon as she sat in front of the small oak furniture and started to search through each and every single drawer thoroughly as if she could find gold there.

"Look, Rukia, I'm tired. Let's get back to bed…"

The smaller woman stopped turned to look at him. "I can't. I have to find it."

"Rukia, if you get back here, I promise that I will make it worth it and I will help you to look whatever you lost." Mentally he cheered when the dark haired shinigami sighed and walked back to him. Sliding into the futon, she settled in his arms placing a small kiss on his lips. "What did you lose anyway?"

"…I don't know where the handcuffs are." She finally confessed.

"What?" He groaned and fell back on the bed. "Damn it, I had a lot of trouble to get those without anyone finding out."

_

* * *

__Huhuhuhu…another weird piece coming from me, someone asked a sequel to "Mistletoe and Folly"…I guess that in away this can be considered one since I'm once again playing with the excess of alcohol, as well as the irony of Byakuya trying to prevent his sister from doing something that she's already doing with Ichigo, also as to how Byakuya and Retsu got a hold of said handcuffs, well, I leave that to the reader's imagination, don't kill the author for a lack of imagination as to how use this theme._

_R&R to please moi and feed my muse, the inconsiderate woman seems to be wanting to work when it pleases to her, damn you, my muse. _


	12. What's Truly Important?

**Theme**: 25. Fence  
**Beta:** Bakageta  
**Dedicated**: To my friend_ Panacea_ for the RP that inspired this  
**Word Count:** 2177  
**Disclaimer:** I don't own the characters, wish that I did but they belong to Kubo Tite and his people, me only borrowing them for awhile.  
**A/N:** Set in the Soul Society/Save Rukia ark, I conclude that most people has already read/seen that already but still for the ones that hadn't seen it yet…well beware for spoilers.

* * *

Nakashima Kimiko was vivid with anger, pure raw anger that rolled from her like waves of electricity. Some members of her division could swear that they could see the aura of anger surrounding her when they walked past her. Those who were in her way moved parting like the Red Sea for her, not feeling like being killed off by their division's third seat for something that was not really their fault.

Everyone in their division, probably in all of Soul Society, knew that Kimiko was not on the best ground with the sixth division captain, who was also her cousin, after Rukia had been as good as arrested in the human world and brought back as if she was a criminal by Byakuya and Renji. Though she could understand that what Rukia had done probably hadn't been the best course of action, she also knew that her cousin had had reasons to do it and that these reasons were justified. Therefore she couldn't find a reason for Byakuya not to help Rukia, but he hadn't done anything which only angered Kimiko more because his lack of action was going to end with Rukia's execution.

So at that moment Kimiko hated Byakuya, she hated the Gotei 13, she hated Sereitei, she hated the council of the 46 and she was praying that the ryokas, who had just managed to get inside, were successful in whatever they were planning to do.

"Oi…errr…Nakashima-san." A very brave member of her division approached her.

"WHAT!" She spat and glared at the poor girl who had approached her. When she noticed that the young shinigami was trembling she took a deep relaxing breath and tried again. "I'm sorry, what do you need, Yui-san?"

"Well…Abarai-fukotaicho…" Yui back tensed when Kimiko's glare returned full force. Suddenly she felt the need to run far away from there before saying what she had to say. "…Abarai-fukotaicho wants to talk with you."

"Does he? So Renji wants to talk with me, interesting…" Kimiko's emerald eyes flashed now, wave after wave of pure raw anger reflected in those eyes "Tell Renji that he can fu…"

Quite apparently Kimiko's anger was not only directed only towards their captain, their lieutenant was also on her bad side, considering the foul mouthed answer. The division members had never heard Kimiko speak like that and half of the words were ones they didn't even knew existed. When she saw the young shinigami run off in fear and shock, Kimiko felt a slight mix of smugness, because Yui would let Renji know that she was angry with him, and shame, for having treated the poor girl like that when it hadn't been her fault.

"My, my…it seems that your anger just manifested full force."

Kimiko's back tensed like a tightened bow when she recognized the voice. Feeling very embarrassed, the flush on her cheeks proof enough, she turned around with her head lowered and her anger now more subdued than any of the members of the sixth division had ever seen.

"Unohana-taicho." Kimiko said very, very softly not feeling like acknowledging Unohana's presence after the horrible moment she had experienced. "What are you doing here?"

"Well I have come to see Kuchiki-sama, but instead I…"

"To see Kuchiki-taichou?" Kimiko suddenly had quite an epiphany, so powerful that she momentarily saw that she had rudely interrupted the 4th division captain. She finally raised her head with her eyes shimmering in excitement. "Thank the kami for your visit, this is just exactly what I needed. Kami finally heard me."

Before Retsu could say anything, Kimiko's hand shot out and took a hold of the gentle captain's wrist to drag her to her captain's office. The members of her division just watched in pure shock as their third seat pretty much manhandled another captain while sputtering something like _'beating some sense into his thick head' _and some other things that they preferred to ignore, just like the bewildered expression on the fourth division captain's face.

They stopped in front of the captain's office. Kimiko gave Unohana a meaningful look before she left, not in the mood to see her captain. The fourth division captain only shook her head before she lightly knocked to make presence known, when no one answered she tried again. Slightly taken aback she dared to open the door only to notice that the office was empty, maybe she should wait for him for a little while.

•**¨¤¨•§•¨¤¨•§•¨¤¨•§•¨¤¨•§•¨¤¨•§•¨¤¨•§•¨¤¨•**

Since the situation with Rukia the atmosphere in the sixth division had become uncomfortable due to Kimiko. The young girl didn't even try to disguise her anger towards him, which Byakuya had to ruefully admit was worse than he had anticipated since she had turned very rebellious and refused to see him in any type of circumstances. She had devised ways to completely avoid him even in the most menial of tasks, giving them to other members instead to avoid seeing him.

That wasn't a big problem, Byakuya knew that she just needed to cool off and accept the fact that Rukia had broken the rules and needed to be punished. He didn't like it either, but Kimiko's wrath was affecting everyone in the division. Now they were more fearful of the repercusitions of crossing Kimiko in any way, it was like walking on thin ice when she was around. The only time they had seen each other, after Rukia was condemned, she had gave him such a vicious glare that he was sure that, had it been possible, she would have killed him a billion times over.

Therefore he had needed to get away from the division, leave the anger of Kimiko behind and try to forget that Rukia was _going _to die with him doing nothing to prevent it.

When he stepped into his office he was a surprised to find the fourth division captain waiting for him. For a few seconds they only looked at each other before he finally closed the door and tried to ignore her presence. He sat behind his desk and tried to focus instead of fixing the barely present disorder on his desk.

"You know that you don't need to ignore me, right?" She finally said not really standing the silence anymore.

"Don't I?" He retorted before he finally looked up at her. "Because if you have come here to talk to me about the situation with Rukia…"

"I didn't come to do that. I'm well aware that Ukitake has already come to talk to you about that and apparently Kimiko-san wants me to beat some sense into you as well…" She said with a slight smile on her face "…But I have learned that there are some lines that I must not cross with you and this is one of them."

He looked at her for a few tense seconds. "Then what are you doing here?"

"I came with a report for you…" She placed said report on the desk and gently slid it to him over the smooth surface. "It's the report of the members of your division that used the fourth division's facilities last month as well as the record of the supplies given to your division."

"A report?" His voice echoed a bit dully while he took the offered report.

"Yes, I decided to deliver it myself this time." She answered as if it wasn't a surprising thing at all. "Now the first pages will show you the detail of the injuries and statistics of the members that used the division and…"

As uncharacteristic as it was on him, Byakuya wasn't really paying attention to what she was explaining to him. At the moment it was the last thing on his mind, he hadn't even opened the report yet she didn't see, or more likely ignored, that he hadn't and kept up her deliverance of the report, keeping the visit as formal and official as it was meant to be between two captains.

"Just tell me your opinion." He interrupted the healer rudely, though that wasn't his intention.

She immediately grew quiet and looked at him. "My opinion, do you truly want to hear it?"

"Aa." Was his simple answer, but the guarded dubious look that she gave him left it more than clear to him that she hadn't truly believed him. "You know that I wouldn't bother to ask if I didn't want to know."

"I know that, but I'm not sure if you will truly want to hear what I think about the situation your sister currently is in." When he gave her a poignant look it became obvious that he did. With a small sigh she stood up and walked around the desk to get closer. "Before I say anything I want you to promise me that you won't interrupt me. I want you to think on the words that I say to you."

"…Aa." He didn't exactly say _'I promise' _but with that answer it was understood that he did.

"Alright then, I'm sure that this situation is giving you more stress than Kimiko-san. She thinks that the anger that she feels for you is justified for not doing anything to aid Kuchiki-san when she clearly expected you to do so but…I know the issue that has prevented you from taking action. Since you became a part of the Gotei 13, even before, I have always admired your great sense of honor and loyalty towards what you think is right as well as to the rules imposed within the Gotei 13…your grandfather taught you well when it came to that…

"But this situation has left you in a spot where you don't know exactly what proper course of action is. There are two different oaths binding you, oaths that you gave to people that had, and still have a big influence on your life. You have honored those promises for a long time, yet right now they are clashing with one another and that's what Kimiko-san doesn't understand. She doesn't know like I do how hard this is for you, right now you have to ask yourself what's truly important."

He looked at her while she leaned a bit against his desk "What's truly important?"

"Yes, you have to decide which one of those two oaths is closer to your heart and which one should you follow in the end…" A small sad smile appeared on her face when he looked at her with a barely repressed lost expression. "Sumimasen, but this is a choice which I can't and won't help you make. You should do it on your own."

After what seemed like an eternity he finally nodded, she was a bit worried that maybe her words had angered him. Being honest with herself and saying her opinion had also been very hard for her but she had needed to say it. She had to try to give at least a little bit of help since she couldn't do anything more for him than that and being there for him.

When the atmosphere in the office started to become a bit more bearable, at least enough for Byakuya to finally take a look at the report she had brought him, Retsu decided that it was more than safe for her next course of action. Very gently she ran her fingertips over his cheek, effectively causing him to look up at her with a questioning expression at the sudden touch. With a fleeting smile she bent down a bit and kissed him.

"I know that you'll make the best decision…" She commented once she stood straight and pushed away from the desk with the intention to leave. "Just think of this of another obstacle that you need to pass."

Byakuya only looked at her, thoroughly taken aback and Retsu had wanted to laugh at that, it was so rare for her to manage to catch him by surprise; usually it was the other way around. Barely managing to suppress at least some giggles she nodded at him before she left his office knowing that right now he needed to be alone.

After all the decision he was about to make is, if not, more important than the one regarding them and like last time he needed to make it on his own.

* * *

_The only way I could think of working this damn theme since this was one of the themes that really was giving me some trouble as how to work with it. Anyway in this piece I'm working with the idea of an already established relationship between them, why? Because I was always curious with the idea of them as a couple when the events of rescuing Rukia were unfolding and it is quite an interesting idea, so sue me (actually please don't, me no money, me poor), it also helped that me and Panacea RP'ed this idea in MSN like a week ago our next RP victim is Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance…Reyson/Nephenee and Soren/Ilyana here we go. _


	13. Lemon Drops

**Theme: **23. Candy

**Dedicated to: **Lúthien –that helped me to spur this idea

**Word Count: **1177

**Disclaimer:** I don't own the characters, wish that I did but they belong to Kubo Tite and his people, me only borrowing them for awhile.

**Note [s]: **Gah, this is un'betaed because I have been so all over the place and I haven't been able to properly contact my beta. Also candies are so not HP related.

* * *

Sliding the shoji door of the office open Rukia blinked in slight surprise when she saw her brother on the other side and ready to open it himself. It wasn't as if Rukia hadn't heard that quite lately her brother had been visiting the fourth division captain quite a lot after the Winter War had been finally settled, how couldn't she when she saw Isane in the SWA meetings and she had mentioned that to her which had surprised her a bit since she had no idea when her brother and the healer started to get along so well.

"Niisama." She said very respectfully and with a slight bow of her head.

"Rukia."

"Hmm…so…I guess you have come to see, Unohana-san." She strangely felt a bit nervous for asking that, when her brother nodded she carefully moved to clear the door and properly step outside the office "I suppose I'll see you back in the house later."

He only nodded again before he stepped inside and silently closed the door behind him leaving Rukia wondering on what exactly happened behind those doors? A sudden flush appeared on her cheeks at the sudden very vivid and graphic image that came to her mind on just what other types of activities could be done on a desk besides paperwork. Feeling a bit flustered and ashamed she just left as fast as her flash step could carry her and planning on asking Kimiko to spar with her to forget that psychologically scarring image.

When he felt Rukia's presence safely away he finally allowed himself to relax, thankful that his sister hadn't noticed that he had tensed when they accidentally met in that place, of all the places for him to accidentally find his sister Fate just had to decide on this one. A light feminine laugh with some chimes of amusement reminded him of the other person that was obviously on the room; with a small frown he turned to look at the 4th division captain that was now trying to unsuccessfully to cover her soft giggles with the palm of one of her dainty hands.

"I fail to see any form of amusement on this."

"Well if you could have seen your expression a few moments ago, believe me, you'll see it." She answered when she had finally stifled her giggles enough to properly do so "You looked really adorable with that expression."

His frown deepened, there were a lot of words associated with his looks like handsome, aristocratic and many others but adorable had never been one of them "Did you just said I'm adorable?"

"I did, surprising for you since you're used to having other type of words describing your looks but with that expression adorable is the only one that fits." Blatantly she ignored the glare he gave sent her way, she was by now used to them and quite frankly they had never unfazed her "So might I ask what brings you here?"

"You were late for our lunch engagement." He said rather simply and mildly

For some seconds she was quite startled at that piece of information "I was," When he barely nodded to answer a small exasperated sigh escaped her lips "I'm sorry, I didn't realized it I had to take care of some members of the 11th division that were causing some trouble again."

With a slight uncaring shrug of his shoulders he moved to take a seat in one of the chairs in front of her desk, customary since some shinigamis came to talk with her and ask for advice almost like if she was a psychologist, and flexed his arms in front of his chest when it became obvious he was not going to speak again she sighed and returned to her work on the reports that she still had to fill up being discarded when she had been forced to control the situation with the eleventh division members.

For long minutes the only sounds echoing on the room were the sound of brush against paper, his even breathing and her low hummed melody which wasn't new for any of them, usually when he came to her office they rarely talked spending the time on silence or indulging themselves on some other…_ahem_…activities on top of the very desk in which she was working or his depending on where they were.

"What was Rukia doing here?"

"Hmm," She finally finished her last report and left in the desk to let the ink dry before she raised her head to look at him "Rukia-san came to deliver something to me."

"What?"

The healer sighed before she opened one of the drawers of her desk to pull out a transparent bag and showed it to him, the small bag was filled light yellow candies. Byakuya should have figured as much, really he had been surprised to know that Retsu was **very **fond of sweets and quite apparently his sister had been helping her to keep that particular addiction bringing candy for the fourth division captain when she went to the human world to visit Ichigo.

"You should have suspected that your sister was providing me with candy also wouldn't be easier to tell Rukia the truth." She said matter of factly and ignoring the frown on his face "You will tell her when the time is right." Opening the bag she plucked one candy ball between her finger and offered it to him "Here have one, they are quite my new fancy and you might like it."

With a dubious look he none the less accepted the candy slowly he ate the offered confection before a slight wince appeared on his face "Fu…What in the name of Kami is this!?"

"I think they are called lemon drops, what didn't like it?"

But of course he hadn't, the damn thing was **bitter **and that was still little word to fully describe the taste of the horrid candy that was in his mouth. He had really been tempted to spit it out but manners prevented him from doing that especially in front of her, so forcefully he swallowed it and felt like if some years of his _almost _immortal life had been lost when he did that, he thanked whatever god that shinigamis were allowed to believe in when she stashed the bag somewhere and out of his line of his sight because he will have probably took it to throw it away much to her chagrin.

"Well I guess I won't give you more of these candies again and really I would tell you that I will compensate you for that but as you can see the desk is currently being used so…" She stood up and walked to the door "I guess lunch will have to work as…"

Really she didn't get to finish that sentence before she found her mouth otherwise occupied while he had her pinned on the wooden floor, apparently he had decided that the floor will do a good enough job and who was her to discuss that logic?

* * *

_Ohh…look at this, I'm alive again! This theme really went a lot of ways and I finally settled for this. Hopefully my next update will come faster and I won't take so long for it._


End file.
